


Overdue

by linosity



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Homophobia, M/M, Some Humor, Some vulgarity, don't really wanna spoil too much from the tags, ex-lovers, not a winter/christmas fic, smol bonus at the end, still whipped! donghyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21869479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linosity/pseuds/linosity
Summary: After nine months and three weeks of mutual ghosting, Donghyuck received a text from Mark late in the night.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Kudos: 57





	Overdue

He didn’t understand why Mark wanted to see him.

Donghyuck adjusted his clothes and stared into the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, clad in a grey hoodie pulled over a pink shirt and a pair of black denim jeans. Something on the more modest end of his fashion spectrum. He didn’t want to dress up. Not for him.

Mark’s text arrived while he was throwing a pizza box into the trash last week. He remembered hastily drying his hands before grabbing for his phone, hoping it wasn’t a notification about acquaintances who recently added to their Instagram stories or email notifications he kept forgetting to unsubscribe from. Seeing Mark’s name on his phone’s lockscreen made his heart sink nevertheless.

**MORK <3**

_hey donghyuck_

_it’s been a while_

Donghyuck’s face was expressionless as he fixed his contacts list and typed out a response.

_what do you want_

**Mark Lee**

_do you wanna uh_

_meet up?_

_why_

**Mark Lee**

_well we haven’t caught up with each other_

_even though it’s been this long_

_besides we’re still friends_

_right?_

Donghyuck hesitated. The two of them, friends? Were they friends when he swiftly deleted his entire chatlog with Mark? Were they friends when they kept sitting at opposite corners of the cafeteria? Were they friends when they passed by each other in the campus corridors while avoiding all eye contact? Surely Mark was aware as well.

It could have been too much for the man to bear. Was that why he decided to text him late in the night after nine months and three weeks of mutual ghosting? Donghyuck snorted – Mark had always been the needy one. Fine, he’ll play nice, he thought as he typed a quick “sure” into the text box. Thus, a meet-up with Mark was arranged.

But now that he’s thinking about it again, that might not be the case. He hasn’t even looked at Mark in the eye for the longest time, let alone talked to him, so all sorts of things could have happened. Things Donghyuck wouldn’t know about, like Mark winning another track competition, Mark going to the gym, Mark getting a new secret boyfriend because he isn’t ready to out himself to everyone yet. That he knew for sure, because Mark was a coward. A coward who didn’t explain himself after making Donghyuck bawl his eyes out for an entire night, a coward who couldn’t even say it to him face-to-face.

The ringing of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts, and he realised that he had been gritting his teeth this whole time.

He picked up his phone from his desk and placed it beside his ear. “Hello-”

“DONGHYUCK!” A scream almost pierced through his eardrum. “Are you sure you want to meet Mark? Are you sure you want to ditch your conscience right here, right now?!”

“Chill, Renjun. We’re meeting as friends. Friends, okay?” Donghyuck said. “If Mark isn’t willing to talk things out, I’m not gonna meet up with him again.” Then his eyes narrowed. “Wait, how’d you know? I’ve only told Jeno.”

“Yeah, you told Jeno. Then he told me.” Renjun was still fuming at the other end of the line. “Ugh, I can’t believe you’d –”

“Whoops, gotta go, I’ll call you later, bye.” Donghyuck hung up the call before Renjun could rant any further. He cursed Jeno internally. To think, he had thought Jeno was the only one in his friend circle who could keep his mouth shut.

Then he remembered Jeno’s widened eyes, staring at him in absolute horror when he had told him about the meet-up within the safe confines of Jeno’s dorm room. He sighed in resignation. Maybe it _was_ a secret too scandalous to keep.

Donghyuck bent forward to check his fringe and nodded in satisfaction. Then he folded his arms and tilted his head to the side, eyes briefly glancing at the mirror to check if his expression was nonchalant enough. “I’m alright, what about you?” He asked to no one in particular, then smirked in triumph. He’s so cool, he thought as his mind wandered into the depths of his imagination. He imagined himself cutting into a slice of cheesecake and grinning as he stuffs it into his mouth. He imagined Mark sitting opposite him at the cafe, sipping miserably from his cup of iced Americano.

Donghyuck put on his favourite pair of sneakers. He’s so cool, he’s going to have the coolest day ever, and Mark wasn’t going to stop him because he’s going to settle everything today. He’s going to make Mark explain himself once and for all. He’s going to show Mark how well he had been living without him, because that was the truth.

That must be the truth, he thought as he stepped out of his dorm room.

***

Mark was late.

Donghyuck tapped his feet impatiently against the cafe floor while taking a sip of his caramel frappe. Maybe he was the one who came too early. He should’ve known better, he should’ve stopped by the video game store on the way and looked through the new releases until it was 4 p.m. on the dot. He should’ve sighed dramatically before casually taking his leave, he should’ve arrived at the café fashionably late. Then it would be Mark tapping his feet against the floor with his iced Americano in hand, glaring at him while Donghyuck would only smirk in return. A grand victory for Lee Donghyuck, 1 to 0.

Suddenly, Donghyuck’s feet-tapping came to a halt. What if Mark stepped into the cafe right now? He mustn’t be seen like this, he’s going to keep it cool, calm, composed. Upon that thought, Donghyuck leaned back against his seat and let his eyes do the activity instead.

It was Mark who suggested to meet here, and Donghyuck found the place not too shabby. The tables were made of light brown wood and pretty well maintained, and the white walls were painted over with some calligraphed quotes about coffee. Donghyuck blinked as he read through the quotes. _Drink coffee and do good. Life begins after coffee. A bad day with coffee is better than a good day without it._ They seemed like what Mark would say when he’s feeling deep. At that thought, Donghyuck cringed internally and turned to look somewhere else.

It’s refreshing to see a cafe choose to use track lighting attached neatly to the ceiling, Donghyuck quietly remarked. Most of the cafes he had been to had those dangling lightbulbs that would clang together when the air conditioners got too strong. Then he would feel uneasy and leave the cafe as soon as he finished his cake. He approved of this cafe; it’s bright and clean. And he seemed to have come here at the right time too – The sun wasn’t too glaring as its light streamed through the glass panels, giving the tables and chairs a soft ethereal glow.

It’s unfamiliar to him, and he’s surprised he hadn’t been here before. After all, it’s pretty close to the student dorms. Maybe he should really take a break from gaming and head out more often.

Then Donghyuck’s phone started ringing, and he sighed before answering the call. He didn’t even have to pretend to be annoyed.

“Hello, Mark. My frappe’s about to melt into coffee-flavoured water. Where the fuck are you.”

“I know, Donghyuck, I’m so sorry,” Donghyuck could hear the familiar voice panting through the phone. “But I’m just a few metres away –”

“Then hurry up. I don’t have the time to wait for you all day.” Donghyuck snapped and hung up. Admittedly, it sounded a little meaner than intended, but screw it. Mark was a prick. Donghyuck shouldn’t hold himself back in front of pricks like Mark. He’s ready to dump his entire R-rated vocabulary onto Mark’s existence, he’s ready to throw his strongest punches at Mark’s stupid face –

His stupidly beautiful face.

Donghyuck couldn’t help but gawk at the man who just burst into the cafe. He was leaning against the glass door and panting hard, and even from a distance Donghyuck could see the beads of sweat that sparkled under the afternoon sun as they trickled down his cheek. Donghyuck caught a glimpse of black underneath the man’s denim jacket, a jacket he never knew he had. When did he buy it? Did he buy it himself? Did someone buy it for him? Donghyuck didn’t know whether or not to ask.

The man’s searching eyes met Donghyuck’s, and the latter was immediately at a loss as the man rushed to his table and plonked himself onto the seat opposite him. This man, this beautiful man, was sitting right in front of him. Donghyuck couldn’t snap out of it.

This was Mark. Mark Lee.

“I’m _really_ sorry Donghyuck, I swear I ran here right after class ended,” Mark was barely breathing. “The professor ended a bit late, and the LT’s a bit far from here, and I suck at running –”

“It’s okay,” Donghyuck said. “I’m not pissed. And you don’t suck at running.” He mumbled the last sentence before he could stop himself. It was true though – He was there when Mark won the inter-school track meet last year.

He remembered Mark crossing the finish line, slowing down to a stop before bending down and panting hard. He remembered Mark looking up towards the crowd, he remembered watching Mark’s cool expression break into a wide grin when their eyes met.

Donghyuck felt a faint heat creep up to his cheeks and mentally slapped himself. _The Mark sitting opposite him is an enemy, a coward_ , he told himself. _There’s nothing good in Mark Lee._ He saw nothing in Mark Lee.

The said man, meanwhile, didn’t notice a thing. “You _are_ pissed though. At least you were when I called.”

“I’m not mad _now_ , okay?” Donghyuck huffed. “Are you gonna buy something or not?”

“Nah, I’m not that hungry.”

“What about your iced Americano?” Donghyuck lifted an eyebrow.

Mark’s lips stretched into a thin line. “Unlike you, I don’t drink coffee at four in the afternoon.”

“True,” Donghyuck admitted as he took a sip of his half-melted caramel frappe.

For a while nothing in particular happened. Donghyuck continued to sip his caramel frappe while staring out at the window, while Mark started to fiddle with his hands.

It’s difficult to start a conversation between two people with such a complicated history, Donghyuck realised. They were once friends, then lovers, then nobody knew what they are. The last time they sat together at a table, they could talk about everything, from the funny things that happened that day to their worries about adulting. Now, ten months later, only silence lingered in the cold, air-conditioned space between them.

It was Mark who tried to break it first. “So… How have you been?”

“I’m alright, what about you?” Donghyuck couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Same.” Mark twiddled his thumbs.

Donghyuck won’t lie, this was a little different from what he had imagined. He knew Mark was a coward, but he didn’t think Mark would be so pathetic as to sit awkwardly when he was the one who wanted to meet up last week.

 _You’re no better_ , a voice sounding eerily like Renjun nagged in his mind. _Talk to him. Ask him why he wanted to meet up. You can’t rely on him when it comes to human interaction._

“Nice jacket,” Donghyuck blurted out instead. He really wasn’t any better than Mark.

Needless to say, Mark was stunned. Then a faint rosy blush spread across his cheeks and he started to play with his jacket sleeve. “You think so?” He asked, laughing nervously.

Donghyuck remembered being absolutely whipped for Mark’s laugh. He loved the goofy sound, he loved how his face scrunched up in the cutest ways possible, he especially loved how he would clap his hands and slam the closest surface he could find even when he told a bad joke. For the longest time Donghyuck couldn’t tell if Mark kept overreacting because of sympathy or just a low bar for humour, but at some point he became so enamoured with Mark’s laugh that he stopped worrying about it. He just wanted to joke around and make him laugh, make him the happiest man alive.

It occurred to Donghyuck that things might not have changed that much when he found himself saying, “Yeah, you look good in denim.”

Then Mark smiled, and Donghyuck’s inner Renjun started to scream.

“It’s my first time wearing it actually,” Mark explained. The fiddling came to a stop. “I got it last week myself! Didn’t ask Johnny or Doyoung to help me pick something this time.” Mark was glowering with pride, and Donghyuck understood completely.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you’d ever have an eye for fashion,” Donghyuck snickered. Mark clutched at his chest and gasped in mock offense, then his eyes started to crinkle and he broke into laughter. He laughed and clapped and slapped Donghyuck’s arm, seemingly forgetting that they were sitting in a cafe with numerous people staring in their direction. But Donghyuck didn’t care.

While Mark was in the middle of almost passing out from laughter, Donghyuck watched how Mark threw his head back as he guffawed, how Mark’s hair turned into a shade of golden brown as the cafe lights seeped into his soft locks, how Mark’s hand was still resting against his arm. If Donghyuck were to be quite honest with himself, he missed this. He missed texting Mark late into the night, he missed joking with Mark over lunch in the cafeteria, he missed seeing Mark’s face light up when they passed by each other in the campus corridors. He missed meeting Mark in the university park at night, he missed holding hands with Mark in the cinema, he missed falling asleep with Mark on weekend afternoons.

Donghyuck missed Mark. He realised this too late, and now he didn’t want this moment to end. And maybe, just maybe, Mark thought the same.

 _SNAP OUT OF IT_. Renjun yelled in his head. _He hurt you. He broke your heart without telling you why, and now you’re still thinking of dating him? No, Donghyuck, you’re better than this. You’re better without him. You want answers. You want to get over everything that had happened. SO GET TO THE GRILL, DONGHYUCK._

Donghyuck hesitated. Did he really want to?

 _Mark asked to meet up with you after NINE MONTHS AND THREE WEEKS, DONGHYUCK!_ Renjun’s voice roared. _He’s not here for small talk. Grill him, Donghyuck. GIVE HIM WHAT HE DESERVES._

Donghyuck tightened the grip around his frappe cup, now empty.

“So, you wanted to meet up just to show off your first buy?” He folded his arms and put on the most nonchalant expression he could muster.

Mark’s smile faltered, and the air grew cold again. “Nah, not that. There’s something else I wanted to say.”

“Then say it.” Donghyuck’s voice was curt, but he could barely contain himself. _This is it_ , he thought, this was the answer he was waiting for. Mark would explain everything to him. Mark would tell him everything going through his mind that day. Mark would tell him how miserable those last nine months and three weeks were without him by his side. Mark would tell him that he missed him.

Donghyuck would fall back into the embrace he had been longing for all this time.

Meanwhile, Mark shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “It’s about Jaehyun, he pulled me over after training one day.”

***

**MORK <3**

_hey Hyuck_

_i’m so sorry_

_but i think we should take a break_

Donghyuck stared at his phone for five minutes straight. He switched his phone off and on, again and again. The same notifications flashed on his phone’s lockscreen, the notification he didn’t want to become part of his conversations with Mark, his Mark.

His grip on his phone loosened and it slid down his hand, such that his finger accidentally touched the home button. Before he knew it, Donghyuck was staring his chatlog with Mark, where those three texts rested at the very bottom of the chat, under Mark’s name.

Then, slowly but surely, Donghyuck came to terms with the fact that Mark’s texts were very much real.

But he couldn’t come to terms with how those texts could make sense. Just yesterday they were bickering about whether water was wet in the cafeteria. Mark would never be so immature as to break up with him over a stupid debate, otherwise their relationship would have ended a long time ago. They had been perfectly happy together, and Donghyuck would never be so blind as to be completely oblivious to Mark’s real emotions. That, and the fact that Mark was extremely easy to read.

Whatever Mark was suddenly pissed about, he had to find out. He had to ask him, he had to make things clear. Whatever Donghyuck did, he definitely didn’t mean to hurt Mark in any way. He’d even apologise for criticizing Mark that he had been bold to assume that water existed as individual molecules that could never be packed together. At that thought, he started to type hastily into his phone.

_whAt WHY_

_what did i do wrong_

_tell me what i did wrong i’ll try to fix it i promise_

_please mark_

_mark_

_mark please_

_MARK_

He reloaded the messaging app again and again, but Mark’s reply was nowhere to be found. Fuck it, he’ll call Mark. Donghyuck dialed up his boyfriend’s number and pressed the phone into his ear, waiting for the looped tones to cut to a halt and for Mark’s voice to explain to him that it was just a joke, he wasn’t being legit, they would still be together and nowhere close to breaking up. He would pick up. He always picks up. He’d better pick up.

He didn’t.

Donghyuck stared at his missed call in utter disbelief.

Then his vision blurred and hot tears cascaded down his face. Donghyuck slammed his phone into the bed. He buried his face into his pillow and cried. He cried and sobbed and bawled, then he started to scream his head off. Fuck Mark. Mark wasn’t even worth fucking. He should go and die in a ditch. He should be wiped off the face of the Earth. He should get struck by lightning the next time he took a stroll at the university park.

At this point he was pretty sure everyone in the dorm building could hear his muffled screaming and sobbing, but he didn’t care. In fact, a small part of him wanted the whole world to know just how much pain he was feeling in this moment. He wanted Mark to hear his sobs, maybe then he’ll regret letting him go.

As another teardrop dripped from his chin, Donghyuck clenched his teeth and removed his entire chatlog with Mark before he could stop himself. He’ll never forgive himself for falling in love with Mark Lee.

The next morning, Renjun and Jeno found Donghyuck sprawled on the floor, eyes closed and cheeks shimmering from tear stains under the sunlight that poured through the window.

***

Donghyuck didn’t remember anything since he stomped out of the cafe. He was in Renjun’s embrace now, and that’s all that matters.

“It’s okay Donghyuck, it’s all going to be okay.” Renjun muttered, patting his friend’s back gently. “You’ll get over this. There are plenty more fish in the sea.”

“But I want a fish called Mark Lee,” Donghyuck sniffled. Renjun sighed.

“Then you’re stupid,” he said, immediately bracing himself for a punch in the gut. But it never came. Instead, Donghyuck started crying again. “I know,” he choked in between sobs. “I go stupid for Mark. I hate it. I hate Mark.”

 _Jaehyun_ , Mark’s voice rang in his head. The way he pronounced his name was too sweet.

He could see it now. Jung Jaehyun leading Mark to a space under the bleachers, Jung Jaehyun whispering into Mark’s ear, Jung Jaehyun flashing his cursed dimpled smile when Mark laughed and blushed. While Donghyuck slept early, Mark would be texting Jaehyun. While Donghyuck ate with Renjun and Jeno in the cafeteria, Mark would be in the opposite corner chatting with Jaehyun. While Donghyuck hastily passed by Mark in the corridors, Mark would be strolling with Jaehyun.

 _Jaehyun_ , Donghyuck thought furiously as he dug his fingers to Renjun’s soft hoodie.

Who wouldn’t fall in love with Jaehyun? Not only was he handsome, smart, rich and sporty, but he was also an absolute sweetheart. Girls would swoon every time he said hi, and boys would stare at him from afar and sigh dejectedly that he was so perfect, he had to be straight as a ruler. Even Donghyuck himself had a brief Jaehyun phase as a freshman. He didn’t need to be compared to Jaehyun side-by-side to know whom Mark would eventually gravitate towards.

Donghyuck buried himself deeper into Renjun’s chest. Mark and Jaehyun would look so good together.

Just then, Jeno entered the room, carrying a cup of warm water and some buttered toast he made from the dorm kitchen downstairs. “Drink it,” he nudged the cup against Donghyuck’s quivering arm. “You’re gonna get severely dehydrated at this rate.”

Donghyuck lifted his head away from Renjun’s embrace to take a break from crying, and Jeno winced upon seeing his puffy eyelids. “Was it that bad?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“He left me for Jaehyun,” Donghyuck choked into Renjun’s hoodie.

“Jung Jaehyun?!” Jeno exclaimed, and Renjun nodded in response. “Yeah, I was pretty shocked as well,” he said. “I’ve always thought he was the straightest guy alive.”

It hurt Donghyuck to know that Mark was ready to drop him the moment he had Jaehyun by his side. Of course he couldn’t give him a reason that night. Of course he wouldn’t answer any of his calls. Mark had found someone better by then, someone more deserving of Mark than him, someone by the name of national heartthrob Jung Jaehyun.

Were all those months spent together worth nothing to Mark? Had Mark been dreaming of Jaehyun when he ruffled his hair while cuddling together? Was Donghyuck really blind after all? As much as Donghyuck didn’t want to think about his love life being a lie, there was no other way he could reason around it. Jung Jaehyun stole his boyfriend, and his boyfriend happily let him do it.

More tears trickled down Donghyuck’s cheeks as he bit into the last slice of toast, and suddenly he didn’t feel like eating anymore. He returned to Renjun’s warm embrace, and the break from crying came to an end. Jeno sighed and joined in on the hug. Donghyuck needed all the love and support his friends could garner right now.

Suddenly, there were knocks against the door, then a muffled voice. Nevertheless, Donghyuck buried himself further into Renjun’s embrace the moment it spoke.

“Donghyuck,” the voice called. “Donghyuck. I know you’re inside. Open the door, please.”

Jeno got up to open the door instead, and he came face-to-face with Mark Lee. “Where’s Donghyuck?” Mark asked. “Please, I need to see him.”

“But he doesn’t need to see you.” Jeno hissed as he twisted the doorknob. “You broke him, Mark. You don’t have the right to demand things from him.”

“But I –” Mark’s words faltered as he caught a glimpse of Donghyuck through the gap in the door. Donghyuck lay limp against Renjun on the floor, and Renjun turned towards Mark to shoot him a glare before pulling his weeping friend closer to his chest. The sobs that echoed throughout the room sent shivers down Mark’s spine.

“Just go, Mark.” Jeno whispered. “Donghyuck doesn’t want you to see him like this.”

“It’s okay, let him in,” a trembling voice spoke, and Donghyuck lifted his head up to meet Mark’s gaze. “You can come in, Mark.”

Renjun and Jeno stared at Donghyuck in bewilderment, but they stepped out and leave the door gap wide enough for Mark to enter. He accepts the gesture gratefully and closes the door behind him, leaving him alone in the dorm room with Donghyuck.

The first thing Mark did was to bend down on his knees and open his arms wide. “May I?” He asked. When Donghyuck nodded, Mark wasted no time wrapping his arms around the man’s trembling body, and Donghyuck couldn’t help but break out into sobs again.

“Donghyuck, Hyuck, hey.” Mark whispered by his ear as he held the man close to his chest. “I know you’re upset, but you gotta listen to me, okay?”

Mark wouldn’t know, he had no right to know.

“You’re a sick fuck, Mark,” Donghyuck choked into his shirt. “I can’t believe you left me for Jaehyun without saying anything.”

Mark froze. “Wait, me? Dating Jaehyun? But he’s straight.”

“But you said he pulled you over!”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean he confessed to me, you know? And, uh, what happened was very different, actually,” Mark inhaled with a shudder. “… So, you know how Jaehyun’s the captain of the track team, right? Once he called for me after training and said I’ve been slacking off from practice, and it was all because I was dating you.”

“Jaehyun found out about you? And us?”

“He saw us at the university park, Hyuck,” Mark muttered. “Jaehyun wanted me to break up with you or he’ll kick me out of the team. But I didn’t miss a single practice session, and I’ve even improved from last term. At first I thought it was a rivalry thing, so I said fine, Jaehyun, I’ll leave the team. But he had a photo of us, Hyuck –”

“Asshole,” Donghyuck mumbled. National heartthrob Jung Jaehyun being a homophobe had never been part of his considerations.

“– He said he’d post it on the student forum if I didn’t break up with you right then and there. He didn’t want me to quit the team, he wanted me to stop being gay. And… You know how I feel about coming out, Hyuck, you know I couldn’t –” Donghyuck felt the chest he was leaning against quiver slightly, and looked up to see his ex-boyfriend tearing up. It was then when he realised that he wasn’t the only one being broken over everything that had happened.

“… It’s okay, Mark,” Donghyuck found himself saying, and there were no interjections from his inner Renjun this time. “I understand. It’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry,” Mark said shakily and Donghyuck felt a warm hand comb through the locks of his hair. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t say no, Donghyuck. I’ve thought about meeting you earlier, but I was so afraid of Jaehyun finding out. But now I have Johnny and Doyoung with me, Hyuck, they’re friends and teammates I can really trust. And together, I think, we can figure something out. I know how hard it must’ve been for you, and I’m so sorry it had to take this long.”

There was a painfully long period of silence as Donghyuck slowly collected himself, lifting his head away from Mark’s chest.

“Nine months and three weeks,” Donghyuck sniffled, looking into his ex-boyfriend’s glassy eyes.

“Nine months and three weeks,” Mark affirmed with a gentle smile. “I missed you, Hyuck.”

Then Donghyuck pummeled the man onto the floor and kissed him on the lips, maybe a little too harshly but he couldn’t care less. “Fuck you,” Donghyuck breathed. “I missed you too, you stupid coward.”

Mark could only stroke his cheeks and laugh, and Donghyuck basked in the warmth of his boyfriend’s much missed laughter. He was ready to crush Jaehyun the next time he saw him.

**Bonus:**

Meanwhile, Renjun, who had his ear pressed against the door the whole time, teetered away as he turned to stare at Jeno, wide-eyed.

“Why?” Jeno asked. “What happened?”

Renjun struggled to speak.

“Is Donghyuck okay? Was it that bad?” Jeno continued with his string of questions. “These are yes or no questions, Renjun. Nod for yes, shake for no.”

Renjun was motionless, and Jeno could only wait patiently for him to give an answer.

It took a full minute. “… So Jung Jaehyun _is_ straight but what the fuuuuuuuck.”

For the sake of protecting his own sanity, Jeno decided to not question any further. 

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact! the word "Mark" appeared in this fic for a total of 111 times
> 
> have yall ever had the feeling of coming up w a decently good idea and you're like "heck yea im gonna write it out", then you write it out and realise it's total bullshit
> 
> that's pretty much how i felt about this fic while writing it, and i ended up reading through the fic quite a number of times to make sure it doesn't suck. maybe it's bc it's my first time writing fic about real people?? so i ended up being a lot more cautious abt things 
> 
> some of my biggest concerns with the fic were: does donghyuck's chara arc make sense?? was the climax too forced?? was the ending too rushed?? in my defence i didn't really want to expound on the kiss since that wasn't really the point,, hope yall aren't too disappointed :')
> 
> (also jaehyun stans IM SO SORRY i hope i didn't hurt you guys too much yall are too sweet for this asjhgfs pls forgive me)
> 
> anyway pls comment so i know where i'm going aaaaaa  
> and thankyou so much for giving this a read !!
> 
> tumblr: paraboline.tumblr.com


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